Watercress Cauliflower Soup

Inspired from the watercress cauliflower soup from Martha Stewart recipe. Besides having the touch of pepper from the watercress, it also has a feel of creaminess from the cauliflower but without the fat, and is extremely simple to make. You just need to saute some onion, cut the cauliflower, pull apart the watercress, and have a blender. On a rainy cool day, it’s comforting yet takes advantage of very nutritious ingredients.

Or I guess it would be if I didn’t eat mine with a thick slice of garlicky cheese bread. I have poor restraint with cheese. But, I felt it was a fair reward as I was cutting and cleaning the cauliflower and came across a worm. I know it’s a possibility when I buy vegetables from the Farmers Market, and it’s totally normal and natural, probably a testament to not using pesticides. So I always clean everything carefully, and cut everything. Yes, this is the rationale (? is it rationale if it’s the reason behind a fear, which is not rational at all) why I don’t eat whole fruit, I always cut it… even strawberries.

I know it’s just a little harmless worm- not like it’s the horror movie Squirm – but I always freak out. Don’t worry, I’m not a screamer. Instead, I am the type of person who freezes in fear. Great survival skill no? I then have to mentally snap myself out of it and get myself under control. And then ask F (not yelling… maybe just a loud insistent raised voice…) to come take it outside to freedom. So I needed that garlic cheese bread for a bit of extra comfort with the comforting healthy soup.

This recipe yields 4 bowls of soup.

Watercress Cauliflower Soup recipe, Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, or you can use olive oil here as well
  • 1 cup of chopped onion
  • 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
  • 2 cups of stock (I used vegetable)
  • 2 cups of water
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 5 cups of watercress- leaves and thin stems only, plus additional sprigs for garnish

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until is translucent.
  2. Add the sautéed onion, cauliflower florets, 2 cups of stock, as well as 2 cups water pot together in a. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring once, until cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
    Watercress Cauliflower Soup recipe, Martha Stewart
  3. Remove from heat, and stir in watercress. Now working in small batches after the soup has cooled (don’t do this while it’s hot, or fill the whole container!), puree the soup in a blender.
    Watercress Cauliflower Soup recipe, Martha Stewart Watercress Cauliflower Soup recipe, Martha Stewart
  4. Put the pureed soup back in the pot on low heat to warm. To serve,  garnish each bowl with a few sprigs of watercress, and season with a freshly ground pepper to taste.

I am still in my microgreens crush stage, so instead of garnishing with watercress (I forgot to reserve any), I used pea shoots and spicy sprouts from Nightlight Farms from the Portland Farmers Market. Not pictured is that I seasoned my soup pretty liberally with the freshly ground pepper and liked the contrast and layering of the peppery tone of the watercresses versus the peppery tone of the ground pepper.

Watercress Cauliflower Soup recipe, Martha Stewart

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Watercress Sandwiches

I am a big fan of watercress- it has the round leaves of spinach and comes in nice bite size pieces so you don’t have to cut the leaves beforehand, and the leaves and stems are tender. The taste has the spicy pepperiness like arugula but not as mustardly or with a bitter undertone- more like a hint of wasabi. It is perfectly a mix of both worlds. I was surprised when browsing the PSU Portland Farmers Market on opening day that I saw that one of the stands already had watercress, and I was excited to have this still healthy alternative to all the kale in the market.

I use watercress wherever I might use spinach or arugula, usually slightly wilted on top to finish off a dish. Watercress Sandwiches are one thing I do use these greens for that I do not use spinach or arugula. I have also made watercress and orange soup before, and look forward to making this watercress cauliflower soup from Martha Stewart with my next batch of watercress.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of watercress, plus more for garnish (I used another 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 4 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, or tofu cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
  • Sliced bread, or baguettes or crackers, etc as your vehicle… The original recipe calls for 8 slices of regular white bread which you remove the crust and then cut into quarters to make tea sandwiches. I used thick artisan bread and made open face sandwiches instead.

Directions:

  1. Finely chop 1 cup of the watercress and parsley together. I admit the original recipe is 1/2 cup, but I wanted more watercress flavor. Then blend these with butter, lemon juice, cream cheese, chives, and ground pepper. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
    Watercress Sandwiches
  2. Let the mixture alone to develop the flavors for 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill overnight and let come to room temperature later.
    Watercress Sandwiches
  3. Spread the watercress cheese mixture on the bread too make into sandwiches. Use the other 1/2 cup of watercress atop the watercress cheese spread bread (I took this photo after topping the right side, but I topped the other side too).
    Watercress Sandwiches

Easy yum! Obviously I made an open face sandwich because I was using thick Fressen Artisan Jogger bread (with Unbleached White Flour, Yeast, Sea Salt, Pumpkin Seed, Flaxseed, Sesame Seed, and Sunflower Seed) and I wanted to extend every bite of the thick seedy bread with watercress. If you are going to close the sandwiches, for aesthetic purposes consider making sure some of the leaves are along the edges so it can be seen when you close the them. Slice diagonally into quarters, and you can add any extra little springs for garnish on top of the sandwiches too if you’d like.

For some English fanciness, serve these on sandwiches that are cut into small bite size pieces with no crusts, on a platter with egg salad sandwiches and cucumber and dill cream cheese sandwiches, and some tea.

You can also put these on baguettes or crackers for your vehicle of this watercress cheese goodness to your mouth.

Watercress Sandwiches

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